Advertiser Staff and News Services
EAST HONOLULU
Height limit may be reduced
Honolulu Councilman Duke Bainum is asking the city's Department of Planning and Permitting to change the height restriction on homes from 25 feet to 15 by amending the zoning laws that govern the eastern slopes of Diamond Head.
The views from and to the Diamond Head State Monument need protection from homeowners who wish to build taller than the neighborhood's established 15 feet, according to Bainum's resolution.
The issue came to light last month when residents spoke out against a home that is being built 25 feet high — the height allowed by law.
The homes in the East Diamond Head area all had deeds that limited their height to 15 feet, but some have lapsed, allowing a new homeowner to build up to 25 feet.
The resolution has been sent to the City Council Zoning Committee, which has not yet set a hearing date.
"Diamond Head is one of the world's most renowned sights, and it's crucial that we protect it," Bainum said in a prepared statement.
"I am hopeful the resolution will re-establish the area's height restrictions and safeguard the public's view."
Utility lines will be buried
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources will begin the first phase of the master plan for the Ka Iwi Scenic Shoreline with burial of about 1,000 feet of utility lines on the makai side of Kalaniana‘ole Highway.
Work will begin Thursday near the Makapu‘u Lighthouse road. Motorists are advised to drive cautiously during construction, which is expected to end Sept. 3.
The work will cost $500,000. Other phases of the master plan will include more utility line burial, a parking lot and a lookout.
LEEWARD
Domestic violence group meeting Tuesday
The Wai‘anae Domestic Violence Task Force is holding a meeting from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday at the Wai‘anae Community Mental Health Center conference room at 86-226 Farrington Highway.
Called an interdisciplinary team training, the free session is a first step toward creating a comprehensive coordinated community response to domestic violence on the Wai‘anae Coast.
Several agencies that work with domestic violence and families will discuss the roles of different groups and how to make referrals.
For more information, call Amanda Scholz at 624-2155.
HONOLULU
Reading focus of library event
Public libraries statewide will hold special activities today, the fourth annual Read Across America Day.
This year’s theme, "Oh, the Places You’ll Go," celebrates the joys of reading and all the places books can take you. It is based on a Dr. Seuss book.
Today marks the anniversary of the birth of the author, the late Theodor Seuss Geisel.
Call your local library for information on special programs.
Locally, the event is sponsored by the Hawai‘i State Library System, Hawai‘i Library Foundation, Friends of the Library of Hawai‘i and local Friends chapters.
Tomorrow, the Hawai‘i State Library will hold a free celebration in the Edna Allyn Room from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Here is the schedule of events: 10 a.m.: the Oath of Reading, administered by State Librarian Virginia Lowell; 10:30: "Shadow Puppets: Greek Myths," presented by St. Andrew’s Priory third-graders; 11:00: Mazik and Mr. "E" (magic and balloons); and noon: Wacky Wild Stories, featuring 4-H Read To Me Project members and Janet Yap, Hawai‘i State Library children’s librarian.
Guilt admitted in coral thefts
An Anaheim, Calif., man has pleaded guilty in a conspiracy to take 100 tons of coral from Hawaiian reefs and ship it to the Mainland, federal prosecutors in California said yesterday.
U.S. Attorney Alejandro Mayorkas said Marc Eberle, 39, pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of conspiracy. Two other defendants — David Henry, 36, of Downey, Calif., and King Wong, 54, of Honolulu — previously pleaded guilty.
Prosecutors said that from 1996 through mid-1998, members of the conspiracy violated Hawai‘i law by swimming out to coral reefs in Kane‘ohe Bay, where they broke off chunks with hammers.
The $1 million worth of coral was packed in boxes labeled as fish or ceramics and shipped to the Mainland, where they were sold to aquarium-supply businesses, federal lawyers said.
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